


The Blaze

by Syverne



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Barn Cats - Freeform, Cats, Fire, Kittypets (Warriors), Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-25 22:43:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20033566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syverne/pseuds/Syverne
Summary: Quinton, a barn cat, comes back from hunting to find his home on fire with his mother and sisters still inside. A former kittypet on her way to join the Clans on the other side of the mountains stumbles upon them and comes to their aid.





	The Blaze

Quinton was hunting when he smelled smoke.

A blind panic came over the silver tom-cat and he turned, abandoning his prey, to sprint back in the direction of his home - a barn just visible on a nearby rise.

His father, a brown-and-white tabby named Marty, was standing by the huge double doors, panting heavily. Marty looked up, and blue eyes met green, the blue filled with terror.

“Quinton!” the plump barn cat shrieked as he drew nearer. “Quinton, the fire-”

He could see flickering red and orange sparks in the windows, and he gulped down a hard lump of fear that had lodged itself in his throat.

“Bee, Rain, and Maple?” he demanded, unsheathing his claws subconsciously. He couldn’t see or scent his mother and two sisters anywhere.

“Still inside, I think,” Marty gasped for air, a violent coughing fit shaking his frame. “But Quinton, you can’t go in there, you’ll die!”

“If I can save them…” he trailed off, turning his gaze to the doors. The silver tabby prepared himself to head inside, taking a moment to think it through, but his thoughts were interrupted by a high cry from behind him.

“Twolegs and Thunderpaths, a fire!” a snow-white molly was rushing towards Quinton and his father, a determined look steeling her face. “Was it just you two inside?” she demanded, in a tone similar to the one he had just used on Marty.

He hesitated, momentarily stunned, before answering, “No, my mother and sisters are still inside.”

The unfamiliar she-cat’s blue eyes flared with worry. “Well, someone’s going to have to go in and get them, then. Step aside,” she ordered.

Quinton almost protested, but the heat and smoke snapped him to his senses. “Two kits and Bee, you’re going to need help. I’m coming too.”

She regarded him with curiosity, the nodded. The molly pushed open the barn doors and plunged inside, Quinton on her tail.

The silver tom’s eyes, nose, and throat burned in protest of fording through the smoke, and he felt tears welling up in his pale green eyes. Crackling and popping sounds filled his ears as he struggled to find a clear path through the flames. Quinton looked up at the barn’s loft and saw a black she-cat huddled on the boards, the fire reflecting eerily in her amber eyes.

“Up there!” he yelled, easily finding the stranger’s cloud-coloured fur in the red, yellow, and brown-black tones of the blaze.

She pushed past him, moving fast to leap over a burning pile of straw that separated them from the ladder. The ladder, luckily, had not yet been touched by the flames.

Quinton gulped, eyeing the flames with terror. The white molly had one paw on the ladder’s first rung and was looking back at him, her sky-blue eyes whispering reassurances to the silver tabby.

He backed up a few paw-steps and then ran, ducking down until his belly fur brushed the floorboards before pushing off. Intense heat licked at his stomach and chest, but it was over in an instant, the tom landing rather ungracefully on the other side.

Quinton and the white she-cat flew up the ladder, the silver tabby’s claws leaving deep gashes in the wood. Up in the loft, they found Bee with two small she-kits - one black and one brown - tucked neatly under her belly.

“You grab one and I’ll grab the other!” the stranger cried, nudging Bee aside to pick up Rain, the black kit, in her jaws.

“She’s here to help,” Quinton reassured his mother, whose amber eyes were filled with terror. He snatched up Maple, the other kit, and turned back to the ladder, still untouched by flame, where the snow-coloured molly was making her way down.

Checking with a glance to make sure Bee was following, the silver tom started down, going as quickly as he dared, the flames leaping higher and closer with every passing second. The stranger was almost to the doors, her white coat flecked with soot.

Quinton’s ears twitched as he heard a loud creaking from above. He flicked his gaze upwards to the roof of the barn, where a few of the sparks had set alight one of the beams.

“It’s going to fall!” Bee screeched, audibly terrified. Quinton plunged ahead, urging her along with his tail, trying to reach safety before it dropped and blocked them in.

A worrying cracking sound stopped them in their tracks. The unfamiliar white molly was on the barn’s threshold, Rain slightly hidden behind her front paws.

“No!” she screamed, and the beam fell, crashing down between Quinton, Bee, Maple, and safety. Quinton leapt back, the sudden heat nearly unbearable.

“Pass me the kit!” the stranger demanded, taking a step towards the wall of fire. “Then you two need to jump!”

The silver tabby glanced at his mother, reluctant to let Maple go, but stepped back to the beam. He gulped, making sure the brown she-kit was secure in his jaws, and leaned his head out over the flames. The cloud-coloured molly was there to meet him, latching onto Maple’s scruff with her teeth. Their eyes met, and Quinton slowly let go, feeling like his neck was going to be engulfed in flames if he stayed there any longer. When he was sure she had a firm grip on the molly-kit, he quickly drew his head back, moving to stand with Bee.

Rain had been silent out of terror, but Maple, still having her eyes closed, was mewling and crying out, though it was drowned out by the sounds of the barn succumbing to the blaze around them. The stranger ushered the kits towards the door, where Marty was waiting to take them outside, presumably to the nearby lake.

“You first,” he nudged Bee’s shoulder with his nose before breaking off into a cough. “C’mon, Mom, go!”

The plump black molly was shaking, but she backed up anyway, putting on a facade of determination. She struggled to get far enough back, the fire closing in on them like a pack of hungry dogs, eager for a meal of cat. Then she ran, a wild, adrenaline-fueled spring in her step when she leapt, nearly losing her footing on the ash-coated boards on the other side. Bee looked back at her son before rushing to the door to follow her mate and kits.

The ring of flame was smaller then, and Quinton didn’t think he would have enough room for a proper run-up. His green eyes were worried and scared, but-

“Come on!” the white molly cried. “Before you run out of space. Don’t think about it, just jump! I’ll catch you!” There was a note of something almost like desperation in her voice, but he couldn’t determine why that might be.

The silver tabby moved back, frighteningly aware of the heat and blazing fire moving closer around him. He stopped, ran forward, and sprung.

The jump was a blur, and he vaguely remembered crashing into something soft and paws being thrown around his shoulders, before the world came back into focus.

“You’re okay, you did it!” the stranger’s voice mewed. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Quinton only realized that the paws had been hers when she removed them, grabbing one of his paws instead to practically drag him out.

The silver tom coughed furiously as they left the barn, streaking as fast as they could down the hill to the lake. He was quaking, and suddenly felt exhausted and overwhelmed, collapsing to the ground as soon as they reached the bank.

“What’s your name?” he asked the snow-white she-cat once he had caught his breath.

She hesitated, then mewed, “Mayra. You?” Her mew was short and clipped, sounding like she had also just come down from running entirely on adrenaline.

“Quinton,” the silver tabby replied. “These are my parents, Bee and Marty, and my two little sisters, Rain and Maple,” Quinton paused. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” she shook her head. “I was just passing through when I saw the fire.”

“Passing through? Where are you going?” the tom replied, suddenly disappointed that she wouldn’t be sticking around.

“To the other side of the mountains. Another kittypet mentioned that cats are gathering there, forming groups. It’s been all the buzz in Twolegplace, so I thought I might check it out,” Mayra explained, looking around at the group.

“How far is it?” Quinton asked, suddenly struck by an idea.

“Two days travel to the other side at most,” she said evenly.

“The kits need a good, solid home, and we’ve just lost ours,” he mewed. “If this group thing is the real deal…” Quinton cast his gaze to his parents, who were looking at each other as if having a silent conversation.

“All the rumours seem to be fairly consistent. Even if they’re not true, that side of the mountains has always been known for sheltering cats better than any Twoleg den,” her sky-blue eyes moved to meet the silver tom’s, and she winked.

“Let’s go,” Bee mewed suddenly. “We can spend a night here, and then head out tomorrow. I’ve always wanted to be a wild cat.”

Marty had been nodding as she spoke and moved to set about making nests for the night.

“Then it’s settled,” Quinton turned back to the white molly. “We’ll come with you over the mountains.”

He smiled, and she smiled back.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! Thank you for reading my one-shot! If you enjoyed this, please leave a kudos and a comment, they really help motivate me to post more of my writing! Perhaps even leave some suggestions for more Warriors one-shots? I really do love writing stuff like this!  
Again, thank you so much for reading :D


End file.
